In this article, we examine the long-term
consequences of displacement for workers who
had accumulated substantial seniority with their
former employers. Using newly developed data
from the administrative records of the state of
Pennsylvania, we study the earnings histories of
a group of workers who left declining firms
between 1980 and 1986 after working for those
firms since at least 1974. By observing these
workers' earnings for several years before and
after their separations, as well as the earnings
of workers whose employment relationships
endured throughout our sample period, we are
able to assess displaced workers' long-term
earnings losses much better than has previously
been possible.